House Republican lawmakers are asking the crowdfunding giants Eventbrite and GoFundMe to cooperate with their investigation into the Biden administration allegedly pressuring large financial institutions to spy on customers’ private transactions in search of people considered by the government to be extremists.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, Ohio Republican, requested documents from the tech giants detailing the companies’ communications with federal agencies, including the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the FBI.
Mr. Jordan also leads the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, which has scrutinized the tracking and monitoring of private citizens’ financial records in coordination with federal law enforcement. Treasury officials sought the information in the aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, storming of the U.S. Capitol by supporters of then-President Donald Trump.
Mr. Jordan explained how FinCEN alerted financial institutions to customers’ use of Eventbrite, for example, “noting that ’people have been observed using this site to post an event and sell tickets including bus tickets to the [Jan. 6] demonstrations.’”
FinCEN pointed out how card purchases to events could be tracked to identify people who bought tickets to events supporting President Trump using a certain transaction reference.
“Despite these transactions having no apparent nexus to criminal activity—and, in fact, relate to Americans exercising their First Amendment rights—FinCEN seems to have adopted a characterization of these Americans as potential threat actors,” Mr. Jordan wrote.
FinCEN polices financial transactions to combat money laundering for domestic and international terrorism.
Mr. Jordan wrote to executives at both companies notifying them that FinCEN recommended that financial institutions “’search Zelle payment messages’ using generic terms like ’TRUMP,’ ’MAGA,’ ’America First,’ ’PELOSI,’ ’PENCE,’ ’SCHUMER,’ as well as a document reflecting a ’prior FinCEN analysis’ of ’Lone Actor/Homegrown Violent Extremism Indicators.’”
FinCEN, Mr. Jordan said, “warned these financial institutions of ’extremism’ indicators that include ’transportation charges, such as bus tickets, rental cars, or plane tickets, for travel to areas with no apparent purpose.”
The government also was looking for the purchase of books (including religious texts) and subscriptions to other media.
GOP lawmakers said individuals who shopped at retailers such as Cabela’s or Dick’s Sporting Goods, or purchased religious texts such as the Bible, may also have had their transactions flagged. The federal government flags terms like “MAGA” and “Trump” for financial institutions if Americans use those phrases when completing transactions, according to documents obtained by the subcommittee.
“In other words, the federal government, through FinCEN, urged large financial institutions to comb through their customers’ private transactions and report charges on the basis of protected political and religious expression,” Mr. Jordan wrote.
House investigators previously revealed how the FBI worked with Bank of America to gather private financial data of Americans.
Documents obtained by the Judiciary panel and the subcommittee, Mr. Jordan said, raise the prospect that Eventbrite and GoFundMe were likely in communication with FinCEN or other federal law-enforcement agencies about activity on Eventbrite and GoFundMe’s platform.
An Eventbrite spokesperson told The Washington Times in an email statement that they were never contacted by FinCEN.
“After we received the letter and request for information from Rep. Jordan, Eventbrite conducted an extensive search of its email and file systems. We have found no record of being contacted by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN),” the spokesperson said. “Our team will comply with legal requests when necessary in the course of investigations and thank Rep. Jordan for his request.”
The Washington Times reached out to officials at GoFundMe but did not immediately hear back.
“This kind of pervasive financial surveillance, carried out in coordination with federal law enforcement, without legal process, into Americans’ private transactions is alarming and raises serious concerns about the federal government’s potential abuses of Americans’ fundamental civil liberties,” Mr. Jordan said.
In January, Mr. Jordan’s committees sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher A. Wray requesting a transcribed interview from Peter Sullivan, senior private sector partner for outreach in the Strategic Partner Engagement Section of the FBI, and the same request to Noah Bishoff, a former top director at FinCEN.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, in a House hearing last month, avoided saying whether the department surveilled consumers’ purchases.
Ms. Yellen stopped short of telling Rep. Ann Wagner, Missouri Republican, whether Treasury told financial institutions to search purchasers’ transactions.
“We intend to investigate fully and to respond,” Ms. Yellen said.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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